The Sudrians: Great Western Collection

Mute

The morning sun shone across the island, as the engines worked hard as ever on the railway. All except one diesel engine.

BoCo had been sent to the new works at Crovan's Gate for one of his routine checkups and now sat in the works. He hadn't been to Crovan's Gate too much after it was being redeveloped in the new scheme put up earlier this year and had now all been opened to be worked in. The big diesel had to admit, the look of the new works was very impressive, unlike the cold, grey works previously next to the station, the new works had a more rich, brick colour, standing taller and grander from all the other buildings in the new industrial sectors of the town.

But now BoCo was beginning to feel bored, he had to be given some light maintenance for the next two days before getting back out on the railway and there wasn't much anyone was doing here.

There was that new narrow gauge tank engine from Cuba called Victor, coming here from a foreign country to work here specifically and he was extremely nice and always gave jokes to him. But he was very professional in his work and did not have much time to talk BoCo, with him rushing around the place, shunting wagons where need be.

Just then, BoCo heard a loud diesel horn come from outside. He looked and gasp in amazement, there, a diesel from British Rail was pushing in three flatbeds, one with a tank engine that looked just like Arthur with rust covering them all over, the middle flatbed with a rusted tender and the last having another rusted engine.

BoCo was stunned by the sight. "What's going on here?" he called to the diesel, "who are these?"

"I don't know," said the diesel, "new ones for you lot I'm guessing, sorry, can't stop got a timetable to keep to."

And with that, the diesel rumbled out of the works instantly, leaving BoCo next to the rusty engines.

The big diesel stared at the engines, on the flatbed. I stared back down at him. "Do you mind?" I asked.

"Oh! I apologise," said BoCo, "I didn't mean to be rude."

"That's alright," I chuckled, now realising that the diesel was being polite, "I did not expect to greet a North Western engine so soon!"

"May I ask," said BoCo carefully, "what are you both doing here?"

I smiled happily. "Me and this other engine here," I explained, "have been brought! That engine has been sold to the North Western Railway to help out here, whilst I have been preserved and going to be restored to heritage used by Sir Charles Topham Hatt."

"Sir Charles brought you for own self-interest?" said BoCo.

The way he said it made me chuckle. "If you put it like that, then yes," I replied.

BoCo smiled back at me, then looked back to see the other engine, his smile faded a little. "Do you know the other engine's name?" he asked.

I looked back to see the other engine, silent and looking down at his buffers, not saying a word to any of us. "I'm afraid not," I said, looking back at the big diesel, "he has said a word on our journey here. He's been silent the entire time, all I know about him is that he is to work for your railway, and is one of the brothers of another engine who is here."

"You mean Arthur?" said BoCo.

"If that's the engine's name, then yes," I responded.

BoCo pondered. "Do you know why that new engine is so quiet?" he asked curiously.

I looked back at the engine behind me, but I did not know, as much as I wanted to, I looked to BoCo once more, with a pitying smile. "The poor engine must be shocked silent," I said, "the scrapyards can be a dark and sad fate. I was lucky, I was asleep through most of it since the drug had long-term effects on me which only came off me two years ago I believe."